Vegetable peeler



^ Vga Ma@ vJune 7, 1949. H R, BANKS 2,472,460

VEGETABLE PEELER Filed Feb. 4,' 194e 2 shetshs'heet 1 June 7, 1949. H, R, BANKS 2,472,460

` VEGETABLE PEELER Filed Feb. 4, 194e 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented June 7, Y1949 VIiIGrE'IABLEl PEELER' Harry E. Banks, Creston,.Iowa, assigner ofvone'- half to C. A. Overturf, Algonac, Mich.

Application February 4, 1946',` Serial No. `645,34'7

(Cla 14d-49) 3 Claims.

This invention relates toa new andvnovel vegetable' peeler andmoreparticularly to a` vegetable peeler whereinA the process of peeling is practiced as a continuousy process or a batch process as desired;

By hand and using potatoes as anl example, a good peeler can peel 100pounds of potatoes in from two and one-half hours to three hours. It is. necessary to go deep into the potato meat in order to remove thel peeling hence there is a loss or waste of from 17 percent to 21 percent by hand peeling. This loss orWasteis very material when the price oi potatoes is high and further, the valuable mineral content ofV a potato lies right under the skin and with this percentage of Wastage, it is almost certain that the mineral content is included in the' wastage. -In the servingA ofr potatoes as food, custom demands that potatoes be peeled. It is almost essential'that mashed potatoes be. free oi skins and custom insists that friedv and French fried potatoes be free thereof ifV for no other reasonthan the appearance of the food on a. plate. SweetV potatoes, turnips, carrots and parsnips follow alike pattern.

At the present time, there is being offeredcom'- mercially,.potato peeling machines operating on the centrifugal principle' wherein the machine has an abrasive side wall'andlbottom andthe potatoes are thrown against the sidewall and bottomby centrifugal force and the potatoes abraded" by the side wall'or bottom of the machine. These machines offerv a batchv processY with water circulating continuously through thev machineV to Wash away the particles abradedfrom the potatoes. The l-oss or. Wastage on potatoes'peeled by these machines is dependent on a time factor; namely, how long they are allowed to remain in the machine. The loss'may run as high as 25 per cent or the whole potato may be abraded away if the machine is not operated-by a skilled operator or is neglected for any'reason. This type Oimachine can't.. peel knotty places on poi.- tatoes or hollow spots without'bringingvthe potato to a uniform size. This means a` tremendous loss in potato meat toiwearthepotato downto auniiorm size.

It is an object of thezinvention among others to provide a vegetable peeler that will remove skin orpeelingsl from vegetables at. a minimum loss or Wastage of the desirable portion of the vegetable. A vegetable peeler that'reduces the timefactor involvedin preparing a vegetablefor cooking; a vegetable peeler'that' greatlyreduces the. cost of preparing a vegetable for cooking; a vegetable peelerl that is economical in initial 21. purchase price, operation and in upkeep;. a vvegetable peeler;` thatv isf easy and. siniplc'i` to operate so. that. a. skilledl operator is not' necessary; a vegetablepeelercontinuous in operation orf that may.v be operated asa batch process if? desired and one that.' is kept clean and sanitary ati Aall times.

In carry-ing out the' objects of the? invention there is provided" a Vegetable. peelerA comprising a; container. Withiny the container! is y a' knoclier .mechanism7 which: isf-rotatable and deliversimpact blows to. the vegetablesiin the: containerlto remove peelings"thereiromi There are'rincluded means inthe'container Which-maybe a discarrangement..` to giveia rotary'motionito' the vegetables in thecontainercand said disc arrangement is rotatable-by'the'knocker mechanism. There" is included inithetopofthe 'container alspray means to yspray'the vegetables and washthe peeling's to thev bottom ofithefcontainer. Theknockersar'e mounted on a..serieswof shafts journal'edlin the container anda .motor is-associated with lthe containerrto rotatethe shaft' and lknoclrers. The disc arrangementis operable. from the shafts by pulleys mounted-Jon theshaits between the knockers.

If it isdesired to operate the vegetable peeler as a continuous process there is provided aninlet for'vegetables to be peeled and an' outlet forpeeled vegetables'iwith-the yvegetables being vcontinuously fed into the container through the inlet endA and peeled vegetables issuingl continuously fromthe outlet end. Alternate knockers on'the shaftsare angularly spaced, for instance degrees, togive a-helicalmotion tothe vegetables and thUsa'd- VanceY the vegetables from the inlet en'dA totlie outletf end;

With the foregoing and other obj ects-v in" View, the inventionwill' bemore fully described hereinafter and will bev particularly pointed outih the claims appended hereto.'

Inthe drawings; wherein likesymbols referto like or corresponding parts throughout',` tlieseveralviews:

Figurel is a` top plan" view'of tlie vegetable peeler with a portion of alid coveringtnepeeler broken alway'to show the interior ofthe c'oiiltainerand a feed'hopper `isbr'ok'en'ems/ay to'show drive mechanism:

Figure 2 is"aside"e1evational view of the vegetable peeler with a'portion of the container broken away to show 'spray' means.

Figureis anend elevational view of the vege tablek peeler from th'e` inlet end of' the. peeler.

Figur'eil isan endielevational view ofthe'vgetable peelerfrom the outletendof the peeler.

Figure 5 is a sectional view through the container of the vegetable peeler taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a shaft showing knockers angularly spaced on the shaft and alternately mounted on the shaft between pulleys.

Figure 7 is a perspective View of one knocker member.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a drill mounted on the outlet end for removing eyes from peeled potatoes.

The vegetable peeler is represented as having a container I which in the drawings is shown as being substantially cylindrical. The container I0 is made up of cylindrical portion I I and end portions I2 and I3. The cylindrical portion II and end portions I2 and I3 are held in assembled position by four or more tie rods, one of said tie rods I9 being clearly shown in Figure 2. A cork gasket has been found very eflicient for sealing the joint between the cylindrical portion II and end portions I2 and I3 and been found to have a long life. The cylindrical portion II has been made of stainless steel and aluminum has also been used successfully. The inner surface of the cylindrical portion II and end portions I2 and I3 must be smooth. Any material that is pitted will only serve as a collecting means for starch from the vegetable being peeled which will ferment and cause an unsanitary condition and the fermented starch may lhave a chemical reaction with metal other than stainless steel or aluminum. Stainless steel and aluminum are not affected by fermenting starch and the smooth surface doesnt allow starch to collect and create an unsanitary condition. The end portions I2 and I3 in the present instance are made of cast aluminum in order to cut down on the materials cost.

The container Il) is mounted on a supporting `structure which may take any form and should be constructed to make the peeler portable. In

the present instance the container I0 is mounted on a supporting structure I made of ordinary pipe, screw threaded together and having casters I6a on each corner to make the peeler portable.

AA motor I6 is mounted on a platform I1 attached .to the supporting structure I5. The motor may be any type motor and a one-quarter horsepower motor has been found of suflicient capacity to operate the peeler.

Shafts I8, I9 and 28 have each end thereof vjournaled in end portions I2 and I3 in standard -bronze bearings (not shown).

On the ends of shafts I8, I9 and 20, on the inlet end of the peeler,

.are sprocket wheels 2|, 22 and 23 with said sprocket wheels being connected by sprocket chain .24. The sprocket chain is an ordinary commercial No. 40 sprocket chain. A pulley 25 is connected to shaft I9 which pulley 25 is in turn connected by V-belt 26 to a pulley 21 mounted on motor I6. Motor I8 rotates pulley 21 which in turn actuates V-belt 26 to turn pulley 25 and thus rotate shafts I8, I9 and 20 through sprocket wheels 2|, 22 and 23 and sprocket chain 24. The motive power assembly on the inlet end of the peeler may be covered with a guard (not shown) to protect an operator from the moving parts.

The shafts I8, I9 and 20 are square and have alternately mounted thereon knocker members 28 and pulleys 29 as represented in Figure 6. Figure 7 shows a close-up View of a knocker element showing a square opening 30 to allow knocker 28 to be tted on the shafts. Pulley 29 also has a square opening to allow the pulleys to fit on to the' shafts. The knockersr28 are slotted at 3| on their contacting edge as clearly shown in Figure 7. In assembling knockers 28 and pulleys 29 on a shaft, the shaft is removed from the peeler and the knocker member 28 and pulley members 29 are alternately mounted on a shaft member. Figure 6 is merely representative, but for a container 40 inches long, 18 to 19 knockers have been found suicient for the peeling operation. As can be readily seen from the figures of the drawing, in placing the knockers on the shafts, a1- ternate knockers are revolved through a degree angle when placed on the shaft. Tie rods I4 are loosened, thus allowing cylindrical member I I and end portions I2 and I3 to be disassembled. The ends of shafts I8, I9 and 20 are tted into inlet end portion I3 after which end portion I2 is tted into place receiving the other ends of shaft I8, I9 and 20 and tie bolts I4 tightened to form the container I0 with shafts I 8, I9 and 20, knockers 28 and pulleys 29 in place on the shafts. Lid 4I on top of the container I0 is removed, opening the top of container IU and discs 32 having grooves 33 on the inner surface thereof are mounted on pulleys 29, as best seen in Figure 5. The discs 32 are in the form of an annular ring with a circular opening.

In the top of Icontainer I0 is mounted a spray pipe 34, which should be of stainless steel and has an inlet pipe 35 delivering water to the spray pipe from an ordinary water main. Vegetables in passing through the peeler are sprayed with water at all times thus cleansing the vegetables and washing the peelings to the bottom of the container. Drain pipe 36 connects into a sewerage system and carries away the spray water with peelings therein. The pressure of the spray water tends to drive peelings to the bottom of the container with the spray water also cleansing the walls of the container to keep them in a clean and sanitary condition. There will never be a water level in the bottom of the container since the drain pipe 36 is twice the size of the inlet pipe 34 to insure adequate drainage. The shafts I8, I9 and 20 are of high carbon steel but are completely covered within the lcontainer Ill by the knockers 28 and pulleys 29 hence starch and liquid cannot come into contact with these shafts and cause pitting or corrosion thereof. Each end of shafts I8, I9 and 20 have grease cups (not shown) for lubricating the bearing surfaces and a soft or liquid oil is used for this purpose. Any leakage of oil through the bearings into the oontainer will occur at a point in the container be low the level of vegetables being peeled and will go out with the waste water through the drain, hence there is no possibility of the vegetables becoming contaminated by lubricant. There is from three-quarters of an inch to one inch clearance between the bottom of container I0 and knockers 28 when knockers 28 are in their extreme downwardly rotational position hence the knockers will not contact any drainage in the bottom of container I0 and contaminate the vegetables in process of being peeled.

On the inlet end of the peeler is a hopper 31 of stainless steel which feeds unpeeled vegetables into the peeler. The hopper 31 is removable from the peeler for moving, storage and for getting to the moving parts for repair. The hopper just hooks over the end portion I3 (not shown) and vegetables are fed by gravity into the peeler. In the outlet end or end portion I2 is an opening closed by a spring door 38 to deliver peeled vegetables from the peeler. The door 38 is the same size as the opening in end portion I2 and further ing them. Suitable containers are providing for catching the drillings.

A The vegetable peeler cost is held to an absolute minimum by casting most of the working parts and rolling the parts that cannot be cast. The only machine work necessary in the whole p eeler is on the ends of shafts I8, I9, and 20 to provide a proper bearing surface on these shafts.

While the invention has been described in .connection with one embodiment, it is to be understood that the Words which have been used `are words of description rather than of limitation, and that practice of the invention within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to with-out ,departing from the true scope of the invention in all its aspects.

I claim:

1. A vegetable peeler comprising a substantially cylindrical container, means mounting the container with its axis horizontal, a series of shafts the opposite ends of which are journaled in the end -walls of the container, said shafts being parallel and forming a cradle-like support, each shaft having knockers and pulleys alternately mounted thereon, drive means for rotating all the shafts, knockers and pulleys about their own respective axes, axially aligned annular members having peripheries resting upon and driven by the pulleys on the shafts, said annular members forming a conduit through which vegetables pass from one end to the other of the container, and the knockers extending radially beyond the peripherles of the pulleys and into ,the conduit between the annular members to peel the vegetables by impact thereon.

2. A vegetable peeler comprising a substantially cylindrical container means mounting the container with its axis horizontal, a series of shafts the opposite ends of which are journaled in the end walls of the container, said shafts being parallel and forming a cradle-like support, each shaft having knockers and pulleys lalternately mounted thereon, drive means for rotating all the shafts, knockers and pulleys about their `own respective axes, axially aligned annular members having peripheries resting upon and driven by the pulleys on the shafts, said annular members forming a conduit through which vegetables pass from one end to the other of the container, an inlet for vegetables in one end wall entering vegetables into the conduit, an outlet in the other end Wall connecting with the conduit through which the vegetables leave the peeler and the knockers `extending radially beyond the peripheries of the pulleys and into the conduit between the annular members to peel the vegetables by impact thereon.

3. A vegetable peeler comprising a substantially cylindrical 4container means mounting the container with its axis horizontal, a series of shafts the opposite ends of which are journaled in the end walls of the container, said shafts being parallel and forming a cradle-like support, each shaft having knockers and pulleys alternately mounted thereon, drive means for rotating all the shafts, knockers and pulleys about their own respective axes, axially aligned annular members having peripheries resting upon and driven by the pulleys on the shafts, said annular members forming a conduit through which vegetables pass from one end to the other of the container, knockers on the respective shafts being mounted at diierent angular positions of the respective shafts extending radially beyond the peripheries of the pulleys and into the conduit between the annular members impart a helical motion to the vegetables in the conduit to move the vegetable through the conduit from the inlet to the outlet of the container,

HARRY R. BANKS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 633,486 Rader Sept. 19, 1899 1,062,935 Trust May 27, 1913 1,226,418 Trust May 15, 1917 1,441,161 McCabe Jan. 2, 1923 1,460,747 Crowell July 3, 1923 1,637,830 Mannsdori Aug. 2, 1927 2,021,970 Urschel Nov. 26, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 27,912 Germany July 17, 1884 

